Jigawa State Governor, Umar Namadi, has vowed to take action against local government chairmen who fail to remain at their duty posts after a surprise inspection of several council secretariats revealed widespread absenteeism among elected officials and senior management staff.
Governor Namadi conducted the unscheduled visits on Tuesday, inspecting the secretariats of Kiyawa, Jahun, Miga, Kafin Hausa, Auyo and Hadejia Local Government Areas. According to the governor, he found virtually all the council chairmen and top officials absent from their offices during the inspection.
The governor expressed deep concern over the situation, describing the absence of elected council leaders from their official workplaces as unacceptable and undemocratic.
Namadi reminded the chairmen that local governments constitute the closest tier of government to ordinary citizens and therefore require leaders who are physically present and accessible to residents.
“If leaders are not in office, who will attend to official duties?” the governor asked, stressing that effective grassroots administration cannot be achieved when elected officials are routinely absent.
He said local government chairmen serve as the “engine room” of grassroots governance and must remain available to respond to the needs of their communities.
According to him, chairmen are expected not only to administer their councils but also to listen directly to residents, identify challenges and escalate issues beyond the capacity of the local governments to the appropriate authorities.
Namadi warned that administering local governments remotely or through representatives undermines the purpose of local government administration and weakens accountability to the electorate.
“Local government councils are the closest government to the grassroots. The chairmen must remain on ground and listen to the demands of the people for necessary action,” he said.
The governor further questioned how elected officials could effectively discharge the mandate entrusted to them by voters if they were frequently away from their councils.
He consequently declared that his administration would no longer tolerate what he described as truancy and unnecessary absenteeism among local government chairmen.
“We will not tolerate this undemocratic behaviour and will take necessary action to tackle it,” Namadi said.
The governor disclosed that he would summon all 27 local government chairmen in the state to a meeting, where he intends to issue a firm directive against unnecessary travel outside their respective local government areas.
The latest inspection is not the first time Namadi has expressed concern over absenteeism among government officials. In July, the governor also conducted an unscheduled inspection of the Jigawa State Government Secretariat in Dutse and found several senior officials absent from their offices.
The governor’s repeated surprise inspections appear to form part of efforts to improve discipline, productivity and accountability within Jigawa’s public service.
The latest findings have also revived discussions about the effectiveness of local government administration in Nigeria, particularly the need for elected council officials to maintain a strong physical presence within the communities they were elected to serve.
For Jigawa residents, the governor’s position could signal tougher enforcement of attendance and performance expectations at the grassroots level.
Namadi’s planned meeting with the 27 chairmen will now be closely watched, particularly to see what measures his administration adopts to address absenteeism and ensure that local governments remain functional and responsive.
The governor maintained that elected officials have a responsibility to justify the confidence placed in them by voters, insisting that effective governance begins with leaders being available to serve the people.
